A Princess and a Pirate
by manyissues101
Summary: Lame title. Yeah. 50 one-sentence-ish prompts about Balthier/Ashe, Balthier, and Ashe. That's about it!


A list of fifty Balthier/Ashe prompts (I don't know where I got them, so if they were yours and I snatched them, then I'm sorry), started and finished over a year later. So here you go:

0----0

1. Deception

"You think not highly of me, Princess," he sneered, and Ashe wanted to do nothing but bash his perfect lying face in.

2. Print

Balthier kept methodic notes on all of their supplies, and Ashe wondered how anyone could ever read them, until Fran came in and remarked, with those mind-reading Viera powers of hers, that sometimes even he couldn't.

3. Read Between the Lines

'_Something more valuable_'--the note read, but now he wasn't here to explain his riddles.

4. Mercy

"You'd kill me now, without consequence," she whispered, and his lips pressed against hers with a guttural, "Count your blessings that I'm merciful."

5. Cradle

The heir to the throne, a bastard child, sleeping silently with his father watching longingly over him.

6. Night

It was the only time they had to themselves, but they didn't spend it intimately, instead looking up at the sky and other things they wanted but couldn't truly have.

7. Window

Sometimes he'd sneak through a palace window when he could have just as well used the door, but claimed that it would ruin her prestigious name.

8. Lose

It had been years, and still her disappointment rang deep within her eyes as he whispered, "I was afraid I'd lost your heart."

9. Deliver

"Ashe! You have to see this Ashe," the orphans screamed, their hands clutching a pouch.

10. Elastic

He snapped the waistband against her, effectively ruining the mood, but judging by the smile on her face, maybe that's what he'd wanted all along.

11. Roll

"How about we play like cockatrices and roll around?" he asked her, stealing a line from Fran's list of 'Worst Attempts to Pick Her Up Ever'

12. Ethics

"This isn't ethical," she gasped, at the same time that he replied, "Has that ever stopped us before?"

13. Circles

It took a small band of silver, a story about a forgotten past, and a tearful cry of the name to make her realize that they'd come full circle.

14. Shaking

Bahamut crashed as it sank beneath him, and for once he let himself be afraid because he didn't have to be her rock

15. Humming

When he was especially happy, he hummed old Archadian songs, but Ashe was one of only two people that ever got to hear them.

16. Tranquility

The Phon Coast was the most peaceful place of all, for now they kept no secrets.

17. Feather

It had fallen from a large bird in the Westersand, and he tucked it behind her ear, claiming, "My wings are more important than my heart."

18. Scarlet

The bed sheets were made of the finest scarlet sheet, but all she could see was his mangled, bloody, unseen body after the fall of Bahamut.

19. What's taking so long?

Vann was telling the two to hurry up (again) because apparently putting on Balthier's leather pants back on was taking longer than they'd thought.

20. Embrace

Rasler's hugs were soft and warm, while Balthier's made her feel stiff and dirty.

21. Breath

She hadn't taken a breath in the past two minutes, which is probably why she fainted, but she claimed it was because she could smell the rank stench of death in the air.

22. Sensitive

"I may be a princess," she replied, eyes stone cold, "but that doesn't mean your words can make me cry."

23. Alternative

There was no other way, that she knew, but that didn't make it any easier.

24. Hurricane

Ashelia's anger was like a hurricane, engulfing everything in a gust of unforgiving violence, and she liked nothing more than to let him take it.

25. Stain

Ashe gave him a disapproving glare when she saw it, and Balthier simply replied with, "I've had a many of women, and some like to leave their mark."

26. Premature

The King looked down at his princess, his Ashelia, so small that she seemed to be swimming in her skin, and knew that she must be strong.

27. Neuter

Tired of hearing Balthier's crude jokes, she deadpanned, "Mention it again, and I'll cut it off."

28. Ripe

Her teeth sank into the fruit, sweet-smelling juice squirting all over her lips--all the while Balthier watched, sinking his nails into his palm.

29. Ice

Their skin was so cold it was practically translucent; the desert and it's sky was a world away from this freezing rift.

30. Reflex

Balthier nursed his black eye (that was the last time he suckled the skin on her leg) with a malicious snap, "I've probably got a footprint on my face."

31. Mortally Wounded

Ashe watched the ship go straight down, like a building hit from the bottom, and wondered how anyone would get out alive.

32. Fragrance

Balthier spritzed her with Archadian perfume, "Now you smell like lilies," to which Ashe replied, "You still smell like Seeq slop."

33. Mask

Balthier secured it on his face and asked, "Could I be in a farce?" and glared when Ashe answered, "Without the mask."

34. Code

Ashe stood, confused, between a sheepish Balthier and an annoyed Fran, as Balthier said to his partner, "I forgot which one of you knew Morse Code."

35. Downy

When Ashe complained of the dirt on her buttocks, Balthier smiled, "Just think--when you regain your throne, we'll have mattresses of the finest chocobo down to play upon."

36. Life As Usual

She worried that maybe there would be some sort of lover's change in him now, but Balthier went on pretending that he hadn't tasted her last night.

37. Practicalities

Such didn't concern him, as proven when he suggested they go have alone time in the engine room.

38. Transition

From spoiled rich boy, to runaway, to pirate, to outlaw, to lover, to King--Balthier's head was still spinning.

39. Muddy

There was one thing the Rains were good for--now his perfectly primped cuffs were stained of brown.

40. Fortune

Sometimes she wondered if it was the only reason he deigned to get close to her.

41. Flare

The newly discovered Dalmascan fireworks shot off in the sky with a squeal and explosion, and Ashe wondered if he could see them somewhere too.

42. Tricky

Her teeth ground together as she realized that when Balthier walked out, he took half her gil with him.

43. I Don't Know You

She sent him a hard eye roll and stroll up through the palace doors, entourage following loyally behind, with half the mind to tell the guards to arrest the pirate, showing up with all his earrings and leather.

44. Ethereal

The wraiths made her bones shiver in her skin, because any one of them could be someone she loved.

45. Hold In Your Sins

Balthier kept his mouth tightly shut, for the moment he opened it, chaos would spill out and he'd be a modern-day Pandora.

46. Uncoordinated

She didn't bother to hide her snort when she watched him trip over his own pants.

47. Flurry

All around her it swarmed, landing like cotton in her hair and down on her shoulders--and then in a big splat against her back to the tune of Balthier's laughter.

48. Kaleidoscope

Dreams were like kaleidoscopes behind their eyes, a mix of colors and shapes, wonderful and breathtaking, but when you stopped looking, they became just a children's toy.

49. Pragmatically Opposed

He knew he was wrong, he knew that arguing would get her no where, but the more breath they wasted fighting, the less they'd waste having to lie about loving one another.

50. Let Go

Raminas had, Rasler had, the Queen had, Vossler had--and Balthier would, eventually, leaving Ashe's hand cold and alone.

0-FIN-0

I must say, I have soft spots for 11, 17, and 48. Yum.


End file.
